Pages

Friday

It's a Lonely World!

Having what I've now come to call blogging-buddies is such a fantastic thing, and through them the whole blogging experience is even better! You have people: to discuss your favourite books with(or if you're a beauty blogger you're favourite nail-polish brand) and freak-out over the trailers of new book adaptations with; that understand how hard it can be to get the right balance between blogging and school-work; who you can laugh with, and share your lives with in many ways as, no one else is up at 1am except your nocturnal blogging friends; and most of all, have the same hobbies as you! If you don't have a group of people around you, it can be a lonely world. When I look back to my first months of blogging, I can now see how much things have changed now there are people I tweet constantly! Here are some top tips to get involved in the craziness:

Use Social Networking Sites!

Not only will this help you gain a larger blog following but it will also allow people to find you much more easily! Twitter to me is one of the most important sites to join, and actually the only social-media site(excluding Goodreads) that I have for my blog! Find some of your favourite bloggers' Twitter accounts and just tweet them a short message saying how much you like their blog and how you have your own, and through that you can simply earn a friend! Get involved in different conversations you see, don't be afraid to say 'Hello' as we don't bite(Apart from Hawwa - of course) and be yourself! Once you have a few Twitter followers, you will soon see how their own will notice conversations and that will lead straight to more regular conversations with more people!

Comment on other blogs!

This is a must-do for new bloggers, and people who have been blogging for years! I love reading comments left on my posts and they always seem to make my day so, make sure to return that favour! When someone leaves a comment on your own post, make sure to go right back to their blog and tell them you appreciate it! I think one of the nicest things to come home to is seeing that you're new found friends like what you post and also, you're able to share ideas which really helps when you have a mind-block!

Personally, I find it really hard to go up to someone new and start a conversation. Being thrown into a room of strangers is my worst nightmare - and one I've had to face a fair few times lately! The great thing is, the blogging community is much easier to talk too than the 'instantly-judge' classmates who seem to only remember all the embarrassing things that have happened to you. Blogging buddies - you instantly have something you love to talk about!

Always Reply!

This is something I've always done, and will always do! I'm also so grateful to people who take the time to read and follow my blog so, I make sure to answer any questions they leave or just say "Thank you" for the comment. If someone sends me a tweet, I want to reply and just like that, you've started a conversation and could end up having an endless one for hours! Just by doing this, I've gotten to know the people I'm chatting with on Twitter at this very moment(as I'm going between writing this and Tweeting).

Be Patient!

If you've been following this blog for a while you'll probably know that to build up my own following it did take a while. For many people, it's a slow-process and it took me a while to realise I'm not going to wake up in the morning, log-on and have hundreds of new people wanting to speak to me, and comments to reply too. Although, when you finally get to the point where you realise there are people supporting you and you find yourself laughing on Twitter over jokes your friends have made, it's worth it.

Get Involved!

I wish I had done this sooner but, it took me a while to realise there was a big blogging community - and suddenly I was a part of this! To find people you can talk to in this 'world' and having the confidence to do it are two completely different things! Join in with chats on Twitter such as Lucy's brilliant #ukyachat who just trended 2nd in the UK tonight! Things like this are great to find other bloggers and share about your favourite books and you'll quickly find fellow fans. Admittedly, I wish I'd known to do this when I first started as being present is the best thing you can be!

Don't be Too Serious

Remember, your chatting to people the same age as you and just want to have fun. Don't worry about not being seen as 'professional' and be yourself! Make jokes, over-use CAPS LOCK and make sure to put your semi-colons and brackets to good use! I found constantly tweeting links wasn't really letting me experience the blogosphere I know today so, start having fun! These are the people who won't judge you and instead, share the love of books that fellow classmates will find 'nerdy' and 'geeky'. But, never be mean to other bloggers! Constructive criticism is fine but don't post something that will be seen as offensive!

I hope all my above tips will help! I wish I could have told myself a year ago to get some more social networking sites and to stop worrying about having too many and forgetting the passwords! How do you socialise in the blogosphere?

Apologies for any awful formatting!

There is so much bookish-news floating around at the moment - post coming on everything tomorrow! Including the fact I've spent most of the week freaking-out over John Green tweets!

20 comments:

Great post Sophie!I agree with all you said. Have blogging friends is so great - it's awesome to finally have people to talk to about books!And twitter is amazing for that!You've got some great advice here, thanks for sharing it all with us.

I LOVE my blogging buddies - you included, of course! ;) Everyone's flipping amazing and hyper and loves books so, as a result, are perfect! :D

I COMPLETELY AGREE WITH OVERUSING CAPS! AND EXCLAMATION MARKS!!!

I'm a total believer in returning comments on other bloggers' blogs if they have done so to mine - I have gained many a bloggy friend that way! ;) Plus, I'll have these days where I just go and try to find new blogs to leave some comment love on - it's fun and, you never know, they might end up a great blogging friend! :D I also love commenting on newbie blogs!

I always reply to comments on this blog and do commenting-sprees every weekend where I catch up on what I've been missing! I really need to look at finding some new blogs - there's always hidden gems out there!

Blogging buddies are a absolute blessing because without them, I don't know where I'd be. At school I don't have to many friends and to be honest I feel more comfortable with you guys. Blogging and Reading are my passion and I think i'd go mad without someone to fangirl with and without someone to understand what I'm going through. Being social is probably the best thing you can do as a blogger because your helping your blog but your making friends with totally awesome people like you and for that I am totally thankful. Sorry for ranting but I just think that this post is fantastic and one I'll be sharing a lot. These are great tips for bloggers old and new!

Sunny, thank you so much for this comment! I feel much more comfortable and more 'myself' when I'm chatting to everyone on Twitter. Like you, I don't have tons of friends desperate to be with me and I think just having someone who's always there is really great. AND YOU'RE ALSO COMPLETELY AWESOME TOO, SUNNY! I don't know what this blog would be without your constant help-ful advice and support!

Blogging friends are so important! I had practically no one for the first maybe four months of blogging and sometimes it felt so hard. Then I managed to find a group of people who I loved talking to! Twitter is such a great community for making friends and also talking to others!!This is such great advice!! I wished I had followed it earlier!! Great post!!!

You are so right! I was nodding to every single one of them. Having blogging friends is great coz not only are you talking to them about things you love but sometimes you can get some really good help to improve your blog. I found Twitter a big help because I gained more followers and there are just so many great discussions. Commenting on other blogs definitely works because it's always great to return the love.Great post. It'll be really helpful to newer bloggers.

Getting advice and having some help with things you're not-so-good at(like me and designing - I didn't do all this myself!) are the best things about the community of book-lovers out there. The discussions on Twitter are always hilarious and I'm SO glad you think this post will help newer bloggers!Thanks!

Those are some really good points Sophie! I always go back to blogs to see if I have a reply. I respect blpgs a lot more if they do reply even if it's just a smiley face or a thanks. However a lot of the time I read old posts on blogs, ones that I didn't get around to reading, and usually I don't ever get a reply.I know I am on twitter but I rarely get a chance to go on, you see I live in ruralist Ireland where there is rarely coverage not to mind broadband. So it's a bit difficult to keep in touch with fellow bloggers.Excellent post!Marian ^_^ x

Thank you so much, Marian! It's always tough when you don't get a reply(or as many as usual) but, I think that makes you notice what your readers are enjoying and really what you're best at! I don't know what I'd do with hardly any coverage...! I always love you're comments though! :)

Brilliant post, Sophia! (: I agree with everything you've stated, except the Twitter one, since I don't have a Twitter, haha. But based on what other people say, it really looks fun and beneficial, so I'll think about making an account. :DNew follower!

Great advice! These are so helpful, especially when you are a starting blogger. I think it's very important to comment on other blogs and to reply to comments. It shows your reader that you care for their comments :)

I completely agree with you! Replying to comments is basically an acknowledgment to show you've taken the time to reply to your reads. Comments, as I said above, make my day. I couldn't not reply to them! Thanks, Mel!

Keep up to date!

People who are turning the page...

Follow me with Bloglovin'

About me

Hi! My name is Sophie, and I'm 15! I run the book-blog 'A Day Dreamer's World', and when I'm not planning blog posts, you can find me reading(a lot!), writing, or cooking. I also love listening to music, watching films, procrastinating my time on Twitter and drinking tea! I'm a huge fan of The Hunger Games, and a member of Nerdfighteria. May the odds be ever in your favour!

Blog Disclaimer

From August 2014, all pictures used on this blog are my own, unless otherwise stated. For posts before that date, when my own pictures have been used, it is mentioned at the bottom of the post. I do not take credit for other images used on this blog; that is the owner's. If a picture/piece of text belongs to you and, as the owner, you believe it should be removed, please contact me. It will be removed in 3-5 days if I feel it is the fair decision. Reviews and discussion posts include my own - the author's - own opinion, and this is not meant to be offensive under any circumstances. All poems and short stories on this site are my own and should not be stolen or used in any other way without my permission first.

Thanks in advance.

Compensation Disclaimer

This is just a quick note to say I do not get compensated in any way to write positive(or negative) reviews of any books on this blog. In return for a free copy of the novel, I give an honest review of the book. From September 2013, all books I have received in exchange for an honest review will have it clearly started at the bottom. Other books, for example my own copies, will not have this as they are my own books. This is to make sure I am not, in anyway, going against guidelines that I need to follow. If I ever do I sponsored post on the blog, it will be clearly stated from the above date that I was compensated to do so.Thank you!

All work(apart from where specified) is the property of Sophie Louise. Simple theme. Theme images by digi_guru. Powered by Blogger.